Respond.io
Official Meta BSP conversation platform — shared WhatsApp inbox, AI agents, automation, broadcasts, and CRM sync. WhatsApp ops are the product; HubSpot/Salesforce connect next door.
- Best for
- Mid-market B2C teams running high-volume WhatsApp sales and support
- Price
- From $99/mo (Starter); Growth from $199/mo — Meta fees separate
- HQ
- Malaysia (global product; English UI)
- Profile updated
- September 26, 2026
Worth it for your operation?
Pros
- Official WhatsApp Business Solution Provider with Cloud API onboarding
- Shared multi-agent inbox with automation, AI Agents, and broadcasts
- Public USD pricing (Starter from $99/mo) and no respond.io markup on Meta fees
- Native sync paths to HubSpot, Salesforce, Zoho, and Pipedrive when you already have a CRM
Watch-outs
- Not a full sales CRM — pipeline depth lives in the connected CRM for many teams
- Pricing scales with Monthly Active Contacts and seats; Growth sits at $199/mo
- Breadth (omnichannel + AI) means a real onboarding curve vs a thin WhatsApp plugin
- Best fit is B2C conversation volume — quiet B2B pipelines may overbuy
Score by criterion
The dark mark on each bar is the average of the 8 CRMs in this ranking. Criteria with higher weight pull the overall score more.
WhatsApp opens inside the product on the contact or deal, with assignment so more than one person can work the same number.
Connects to the WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API / BSP). QR-code “WEB” sessions and unofficial bridges do not count.
Broadcasts or blasts plus Meta-approved message templates for re-engagement outside the 24-hour window.
Deal or contact history, multi-agent queues, chatbots, and CTWA-style lead capture — how far WhatsApp is first-class in the product.
Public plan in USD (or clear EUR/USD), trial, and whether Meta message fees are called out separately. Opaque enterprise quotes lower the score.
English UI, WhatsApp Business vocabulary (templates, 24-hour window, WABA), and time until the first shared inbox is live.
What ships natively
We only mark “yes” when the feature is part of the product — marketplace integrations or third-party apps do not count.
- Yes
In-product inbox
WhatsApp opens inside the product on the contact or deal. Browser extensions and third-party modules do not count
- Yes
Official API
The product connects to the official WhatsApp API (WhatsApp Business Platform). Web session, QR code, or “WEB version” do not count
- Yes
Sales pipeline
Visual sales pipeline
- Yes
Multi-agent inbox
More than one person works the same number, with queue or assignment
- Yes
Native chatbot
Flow builder or conversation agent in the product itself
- Yes
Campaigns
Broadcast or blast to a list, inside the product
- Yes
Meta message templates
Creates or sends Meta-approved message templates
- Yes
Vendor mobile app
App published by the vendor itself
Editorial analysis
Respond.io in detail
Respond.io is what you buy when WhatsApp volume is the job. Official BSP, shared inbox, automation, and CRM connectors — not a solar proposal engine or a free CRM toy.
Who it is for
B2C sales and support teams that need multi-agent WhatsApp at scale and already (or soon will) sync to a general CRM. Solo founders sending a few chats a day can start cheaper elsewhere.
What drives the score
Inbox, official API, and conversation depth sit at the top of this ranking on purpose. Price is mid — public plans, but Growth and MAC tiers add up. Learning curve is fair, not “install and forget.”
How we read the sources
Based on respond.io, the public pricing page (Starter/Growth/Advanced USD), and the WhatsApp Business API product page.
Frequently asked questions
Is Respond.io a CRM?
It is a customer-conversation platform with contact and pipeline features. Many teams keep HubSpot or Salesforce as the system of record and use Respond.io as the WhatsApp inbox — that is a supported shape, not a failure mode.
Are Meta WhatsApp fees included?
No. Respond.io documents that Meta conversation/message charges are billed separately and that it does not add a message markup. Software plan and Meta fees are two lines.
Sources consulted
Everything on this profile comes from the pages below. We did not lab-test the platform.
Profile updated September 26, 2026. Found something outdated? Corrections are welcome.